Claire West
@magentabias
Cinema/music/theatre/art. Film conservator at BFI National Archive. Opinions own.
Grant’s wonderful studio is due to be renovated later this year and will be reconstructed at Tate Britain as part of a retrospective of Grant & Bell’s work running from Nov-April. #artsky
During my trip to Brighton & Lewes last weekend, I visited Charleston house & gardens. Home to artists Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant of the Bloomsbury Group, they transformed every room into a work of art. A fabulous, inspiring place. #artsky
Just about coming down after last weekend’s Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds gig in Brighton. The band were on awesome, ferocious form playing to a rapt crowd. Also great to see The Flaming Lips again in support. An unforgettable, transcendent experience. #musicsky
Any week that contains not just one, but two Divine Comedy gigs, is a very special week indeed 🤩 Fabulous support from George Houston too. @divinecomedyhq.bsky.social @aylesburywaterside.bsky.social @southbankcentre.bsky.social
Another lovely day for a matinee at the #Almeida, I went out of the sunshine to see Under the Shadow. A really well staged adaptation, all the more chilling for how horribly timely it feels. #theatresky
A swelteringly hot night of jungle blues with the great CW Stoneking at Islington Assembly Hall #musicsky
It was a great honour to meet the one & only Guillermo del Toro during his #BFI Fellowship tour of the Archive this week and show him a reel of our nitrate print of The Magnificent Ambersons, one of his favourite films 🤩 Photos by Tim Whitby.
Just finished reading The Gate by Natsume Soseki. A melancholic, beautifully written story of static lives and changing seasons, with some lovely moments of humour. Thanks @jacquiwine.bsky.social for the recommendation, it really was like reading an Ozu film. #booksky
Strolling along Upper Street on a sunny Saturday afternoon and watching a brilliant play at the Almeida will always be one of life’s little pleasures for me.
Genuinely unpredictable set of rarely performed album tracks & B-sides at last night’s #PetShopBoys gig at Electric Ballroom. Ranging from singalong favourites to rediscovered gems, this was a very special night where I felt lucky to be ‘One of the Crowd’,(not on the setlist unfortunately) #musicsky
Also enjoyed a chilling evening of Terror Tales of Cambridge by Frederick Cowles. These stories were brilliantly read by Robert Lloyd Parry in the atmospheric surroundings of the Leper Chapel, (where one of the stories was set).
I do love a good dacha drama, so I had a great time with Summerfolk @nationaltheatre.org.uk A vibrant adaptation, fabulously staged and performed to perfection by a wonderful ensemble. #theatresky
MFC Chicken rockin’ the joint at the Crooked Crow Bar in Leighton Buzzard last night. These guys are dynamite! I don’t need to know the question, chicken is the answer. #musicsky
A birthday weekend of wonders! - Wes Anderson Archives, Design Museum - Into the Woods, Bridge Theatre - Starling murmuration, Tring reservoir - Natural History Museum, Tring
An evening of beautiful music at the Barbican last night in the company of Andrew Bird & the Britten Sinfonia performing The Mysterious Production of Eggs.
Second play at the #RoyalCourt was Guess How Much I Love You? I’d been looking forward to this one, so it was disappointing that Rosie Sheey couldn’t perform today. A very moving & honest play about a painful subject, which still finds moments of humour. Robert Aramayo excellent. #theatresky
Having a 2 play day at the #RoyalCourt theatre. First up, The Shitheads! Plays out like a state of the nation satire that happens to be set in prehistoric times, tribalism dragging everyone back to the cave. A unique, ambitious debut featuring some fantastic puppetry, loved it. #theatresky
One week left to see Lee Miller at #TateBritain An essential exhibition showcasing an incredible career, from fashion and surrealism to war photo journalism. During yesterday’s visit, the lights went out in the room displaying her photos taken during the blitz, to unintentionally eerie effect.
The weekend starts here… in NFT2 for Out 1. Think I’ll relax in the #BFISouthbank Black Lodge during the intervals. #filmsky
#lastfourwatched courtesy of a free week of @shudder.com #letterboxd #filmsky
Finally had the chance to watch One Battle After Another in 70mm at #BFIIMAX. Quite possibly the best film I’ve seen there, an unmissable experience, it’s what IMAX was made for.
I call that a pretty, pretty good week of movies #lastfourwatched #letterboxd #filmsky
The BFI National Archive appeared as a photoshoot location in October’s issue of Vogue, featuring the Rizwan brothers. We had fun doing our own version for the #BFI Insta. I am wearing: shirt - secondhand, tank top - knitted by Mum, trousers - vintage Topshop, trainers - Converse 😎